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Talk:Pierre van Stron
Incorrect correction Actually, the capitalization was correct as it was. How to Capitalize Author Names in APA Style -- William Ansley (talk) 15:00, August 15, 2015 (UTC) : Which is in direct conflict with what I was taught by a European co-worker who was from Belgium. -- Billy Catringer (talk) 15:05, August 15, 2015 (UTC) :: If Pierre Vvan Stron is Dutch, it would be written with a lowercase 'v', except when using his last name only: "Clearly, Van Stron has gotten hit by a windmill". If he's Belgian it could be either way, depending on how he was entered into the civil register at birth (which wouldn't even necessarily be the way his father's name was capitalised). :: BTW, the German 'Von' doesn't necessarily imply nobility, although its use in names as a geographical marker is increasingly rare. 'Arnold Schwarzenegger' simply means 'Arnold von Schwarzenegg', but the first form is common, the other isn't -- Stoneshop (talk) 16:43, August 16, 2015 (UTC) :::Times change. Prior to WWII the German honorific von was reserved for their peers of the realm. -- Billy Catringer (talk) 18:45, August 16, 2015 (UTC) ::::The other way round. The use of 'von' as a geographic indicator was common up until the 16th century. After that it increasingly became an indicator of nobility, but names that use 'von' to refer to places are still around. --Stoneshop (talk) 19:07, August 16, 2015 (UTC) :: Well, this is an comic by American authors, so I think the APA style is the way to go here. I believe this is also consistent with the rest of this wiki. -- William Ansley (talk) 15:10, August 15, 2015 (UTC) Apologies and Consideration Having stepped away from the computer for some time, I believe I can approach this discussion with a clearer head. First, I want to apologize for any intemperateness that crept into my tone; giving too much rein to my temper is foremost among the character flaws that make up my personality. Second, I have to admit that this is actually a rather vexed issue. The reference I made to the APA blog entry doesn't actually say I'm right, it just provides evidence that the capitalization of the name I used could be right. It actually says that the name should be presented as the person who possesses the name in question presents it in a formal or scholarly context. Since we are dealing with a fictional character here, the rule would seem to be to present the name as the author of the work containing that character wants it presented. Unfortunately, the Foglios use the common graphic novel convention of putting all the dialog in upper case, so we don't know what they prefer. I thought I had seen a reference on this wiki stating that the preferred capitalization of names was as I have done it. However, I cannot find it, so perhaps I imagined it. A quick search of this wiki shows the capitalization of names of this sort is far from consistent. I suppose the most definitive source that is currently available is the prose novels, but that can't decide this specific issue, since it will be years, if ever, before this character appears in a prose novel. It could provide a guide to names with "van" in general, if the usage is consistent in the novels. Does anyone else want to offer an opinion on this? -- William Ansley (talk) 16:48, August 15, 2015 (UTC) :I don't know that I have an apology coming, but I accept it anyhow. You were doing what you thought was best and I accepted it. This is a wiki. Perfection from one person's standpoint cannot be had. I am rather old to be playing with all this new-fangled stuff to begin with, so who am I to dispute things? It is no longer up to my generation to make definitions. All people of my age may do is to offer criticism as we see necessary. Now, if some brand new shiny miracle of medicine comes along and makes me practically immortal, all bets are off. -- Billy Catringer (talk) 18:45, August 16, 2015 (UTC)